Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
-- Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 5

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Today we had occasion to travel near Picher, OK. We only live about 30 miles from this tornado ravaged town and so we took Ryan, Dillon and Beth to see what remained from the May 10, 2008 destruction. This scene tells the story.

Hope is happy to see her mother. Hope was visiting Granny Annie for 11 days. I am missing a morning hug from Hope. Chelle is talking to Aunt Jessi on the phone so this is a picture of four of my girls -- Jessi, Chelle, Hope and Slim.

This Sunday Granny Annie and Grandpa Ron will have had these five grandchildren for fifteen days straight. First two, then five, then two again now three. Granny Annie is living in the kitchen and Grandpa is getting lots of work done by all thesse strapping boys. Beth and I are trying to watch as many chick flicks as we can while the boys are busy. She had never seen STEEL MAGNOLIAS so we watched and cried buckets together.

Michael did not feel that he got his fair share of the first Cherry Cobbler so he went out by himself on Tuesday and picked a bucket of cherries. He presented them to me and asked for another cobbler. I made it early Wednesday morning before Michael and Hope left. Michael got the first and largest helping. We are missing both of them but it is amazing how quiet it is around here without Hope.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Hope has her first official visit to the dentist. How lucky is she that her dentist is also her uncle. Before her appointment she managed to pull her other front tooth. She did not want Uncle David to pull it. Believe it or not, the tooth fairy found Hope in Oklahoma.

Hope's mommy gave her a little book with various daily assignments. Today Hope was supposed to draw a picture of Granny and Grandpa. Those who know and love me will be able to tell which one is Granny Annie.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

I watched our grandson, 13 year old Michael, draw this logo freehand. He sat in our living room and looked at the logo of his favorite band and slowly drew this. For me to draw letters I must draw a light line and I still can't draw them straight. I was amazed!

Monday, May 19, 2008

My sister sent this picture and wonderful story about her granddaughter, "Nora decided to take the balloons left over from her 4th birthday party, bathe them, dress them in her nightgowns and call them her 'daughters'. She also refers to them as her 'sweeties' . All of her sweeties slept with her last night. Who needs an American Girl Doll?"

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Cousin Beth cheers up Hope. Hope and her brother Michael will stay with us for eleven days. Hope does not like to be away from her mother. It certainly was helpful to have Beth here today to help Hope adjust when her mommy left. It also helps to have a cardtable tent. I tried to fit under there with the girls but it seems I am too big for the Girls Club. Phooey.

BEST KISS was inspired by my niece's wedding kiss three years ago this week. I guess you could say this Markering was inspired by that same kiss. This is a Markering inspired by their daughter who turned One last month. Okay, I'll give you a break for a while but it seemed as if I should share this one since it's all in the family.

Friday, May 16, 2008

It has been a while since I posted one of my markerings. This is called BEST KISS. It is not a favorite of some of my fans but it is a favorite of mine. This link takes you to an explanation of Markerings if you are not familiar with them.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Remember a PEANUTS character by the name of Pig Pen who traveled in a cloud of dust? (Whatever happened to Pig Pen by the way?)

Everyone used to equate me with that character. When we used pencil in grade school I managed to smear it on my paper and get it on my face and clothes. Needless to say, moving to pen and ink wasn't any better. I could smear ink all over and usually ended up my day looking like Hitler with an ink mustache. Wow, what I could do with finger paint.

At the end of a day you could follow my events of the day by following the stains on my clothing and my scrapes and scratches. You certainly knew what I had to eat that day because I wore the crumbs and smudges with pride. You can only imagine how bad it was and is that chocolate is my favorite candy.

I also wore bumps and bruises and still do. Ron is constantly reminding me to slow down. If I am in a hurry to go through the door, it is easy for me to miss the opening and hit the door frame. Feeding the cats in the morning, I know there is a hole in the ground in front of their feeding station but at least every other morning I'll forget and step in the hole and twist my ankle.

Banking was a successful career for me. My results were what counted and I had good results. However my papers were always a jumble and I was forever straightening up. I did have a sign that declared, "A messy desk is a sign of genius".

I simply do not have time for the trivial things and have to rush from one project to the next without having time to tidy up between incidents. At least when I die I will be cremated so my family won't have to try to find clean clothes to put on me.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Here is a recent photo of my daughter, my step-daughter and my son. This weekend my son was here to help Ron work. My poor boy was so tired the first evening that he fell asleep on the couch. I guess our sleeping children will always stir our hearts and look like angels. But I told Ron I didn't believe I could pick him up and carry him to his room like I used to. LOL

Sunday, May 11, 2008

There are many Mother's Day stories posted today. The Elder Storytelling Place has posted a story each day and each story has touched my heart. But Rennratt has posted a story today that has touched my soul. I lost my mom last year but my siblings lost their mom too. Each of our spouses have already lost their mothers. Yet Renn said it all for me when she pointed out that "Grief is a selfish bastard" as we each curl up in our own loss and loving memories.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

It seems to me that most bloggers love their pets. We tell them about our pets and we get to know their pets. We truly grieve a loss like we have Rachel'sGooseberry.If you read my blog, you know about my dog Slim. She is truly part of our family. This morning she came in the house after a night out guarding the chickens. There was a huge growth under her neck. I called the Vet and they could not see us until 10:00 AM. That gave me time to get on the Internet and research all the things that might be wrong. Believe me, I was planning Slim's funeral by the time I had found every horrible diagnosis. Turns out she had an abscess. Slim was sedated and the abscess drained. She is back home now with antibiotics and instructions to re-check her on Monday if she is still swollen. Can't help lovin' that dog of mine!

Monday, May 05, 2008

Our blogger friend Lucy sends us some good tips from the Dollar Stretcher website for taking a vacation-for-less. She has me remembering great family budget vacations.

First, my mother could squeeze a dollar til the eagle grinned..........coughed, choked AND sputtered. We traveled by car on our family vacations and often wondered what those building were that we saw along the way. They had lots of cars parked out front and they had flashing neon signs that read EAT!. Those signs did not attract our parents. The signs that said Road Side Park caught their attention.

Mother always artistically packed a picnic basket for long trips. She used dry ice to keep things cool. No disposable paper plates or cups. Mother packed plastic washable dishes. We ate roadside cereal at breakfast time and roadside sandwiches or chicken or fruit salad at lunch and/or dinner time. It was magic the way mother could fit everything into that basket.

If a journey was long enough to require a motel stay, we drove around a town looking for a vacancy sign and with rooms at the lowest cost. However, finding an inexpensive motel wasn't the whole requirement. Mother had to inspect each potential room and if it was not clean, we drove down the road until we found one that would pass her white glove test.

Those are fun memories of my childhood vacations. My brother, sister and I can actually recall the pleasant meals at picnic tables and remember the beautiful outdoors that made the cereal and sandwiches taste like royal fare. We can also remember hiding in the backseat of the car pretending we were NOT with that lady inspecting the motel rooms.

Today is INTERNATIONAL RESPECT FOR CHICKENS DAY. Our friends at Urban Chickens told about this or I would not have been aware. I should have known my new chicks were celebrating something because they are flapping their wings a lot. They like to climb up the brooder roof and then pretend they are flying as they spread their wings on the slide down.Also, we have some more new chicks. Yesterday, as scheduled, Tiger Lily began hatching the eggs she has been on for 21 days.

My daughter called and left a voice message last night. It seems she was in the car with Hope (age 5) and they had an interesting conversation. The radio was on and the announcer was talking about Mother's Day.Hope (in excited voice): "Oh he's talking about Golden Day!"Chelle: "Golden Day? What is Golden Day?"Hope: "That is the day you give your mother something gold. You're supposed to give Granny Annie something gold."Chelle: "Where did you learn that?"Hope: "From Granny Annie!"

I think I might have told the children when they were here that Mother's Day was coming up and to be sure and tell their mother to get me something gold...or something like that...I can't be positive....but, hum? Busted!"Be sure to visit The Elder Storytelling Place all next week for stories about our mothers..."

Thursday, May 01, 2008

I have a ghost story but it creeps me out too much to tell it. Instead here is a true story of a paranormal experience.

December 18, 1984, I was getting ready for work. Putting on make-up, the bathroom door was open to catch the light from outside. Suddenly in the mirror a man dressed in dark clothing and wearing a ski-mask appeared. He walked from my kitchen into my utility room. He quickly passed behind me causing me to jump and emit a muffled scream. Holding still I fearfully awaited his return.

Nothing happened. Peering around the corner there was no one in sight. My now awakened teenagers were heading my way to hear what athe commotion was about. They were undisturbed by my tale. Goosebumps covered my body as an effort was made to laugh and assure myself it had only been my imagination.

It was 6:00 that same evening before I thought of the apparition again. I was with a group of employees from the bank in the police station awaiting to view a line up. The bank had been robbed at noon that day. Returning from lunch to my office I stumbled into the robbery in progress and had been taken hostage by a man in dark clothing wearing a ski-mask. He held a gun to my head for 60 seconds (seemed and eternity) and threatened to take my life. I told the others then about my morning vision.

Was the man thinking of the robbery and did I catch his thoughts? Was I given a warning not to go to work? Did this brief glimpse at the robber in advance give me greater courage to deal with the trauma at the time? Have you had such deja vu experiences?

About Me

Favorite quote by Angie Worth: "Faith is what holds us together while religion tears us apart."
ABOUT ME: I avoid the news. I have turned off my political upheaval. My days of political activisim are supposed to be over. My hands have been thrown up in surrender and I try to be the best wife, mom, grandma, sibling and chicken farmer that I can be. "I am alive, I am alive by God's grace, I am living in God's care."

Counter-Terrorist Rooster

UNUSUAL HENHOUSE KIDNAPPING

Published in Countryside Magazine, Sept/Oct 2009 isue. A surprise in one of our chicken house nest boxes Be sure and click to enlarge.

POETRY PORTRAITS

Custom, descriptive poetry for all occasions. Granny Annie established Poetry Portraits by Angie Worth in 1983 and has written and sold over 1,000 since that time. "Angie Worth takes up where Hallmark leaves off" Lou Ann Ruark, Tulsa World, 1984